Child of God, Army wife, mom to 6, MOPS volunteer, history buff and book addict.

We are a family of 8 living the ups and downs that come with military life. Our children range in age from 20 to 6 - five girls and one boy.We have 2 dogs, 3 cats and a horse for good measure.We homeschool (on good days) and embrace every day as it comes!

Saturday, October 30, 2010

It's that time of year again. Candy and costumes overflow the stores and Christians all over the land argue about how to spend the "devil's" holiday. Now, I am sure he is pretty far removed from the the cute little princesses and ninjas on my doorsteps, but thrilled about the bickering that goes on about whether we should hand out tracts or just turn the lights off and hide in the basement. Not to mention the judging of our neighbor who have jack-o-lanterns on their porch... because carving a pumpkin is so evil!

Honestly, I am not much of a holiday person anyway. They consume way too much expendable energy and as a mom of six with a deployed husband, I don't have much of that left. However, my kids get all excited about the candy that they will collect and hoard for the next six months or at least until I find hidden in their dresser and throw it away (along with the half-eaten chocolate Easter bunny - but that is a whole other post!)

The first Halloween I remember and one of my earliest memories, was when my dad took my older sister and I out trick or treating and my mom stayed home with our little brother. My mom thought it would be fun to dress up as a witch and blacken out her teeth. I was so freaked out when we came home and she answered the door. Probably why I need therapy to this day...

Love you mom!

Wasn't I the cutest clown? And the witch is my sister. People think I am just mean when I call her the Wicked Witch of the West, but see - I have proof!

If you are one of those who choose to hide in the basement, that is fine and I hope you understand that I am not judging you and I appreciate a person who stands up for their convictions - just don't tell my children that they are going to hell like the nice lady did last year. If anyone is going to traumatize my kids, it should be their own mother. It's a family tradition.

If you are wondering what we are doing this year, you can find us at our church's fall festival. Because, apparently, it is okay to wear costumes, bob for apples, give out candy and display pumpkins on October 31st, as long as you don't call it Halloween.Love,

Friday, October 29, 2010

It has been a long week - I am so thankful it is Friday! We are about 40 days into this deployment (only 360 to go), but it feels like much longer. In a few short days, I will be flying off to meet Soldier boy in our favorite city (New Orleans!) for his 4 day pass (before he heads to the sandbox). I can't wait to see him, but I hate the thought of saying goodbye all over again.

Just a quick reminder. If you are one of my many Facebook friends and read through Networked Blogs, I am going to stop publishing to my personal page soon. Please come 'like' my page at "Our Crazy Life" to keep getting updates.

If you came over looking for a book list this week, I haven't had time this week to even look! However, there are still a few free ones from my last post if you missed those. (Make sure to check the price first, they change often!)

Once again, thanks to Wifey at Wife of a Sailor for doing this every week. If you are a MilSpouse blogger, come over and join the fun!

Questions for this week:

1. What’s the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for you? This is a tough one, because there have been so many. The one thing that sticks out in my mind is the anonymous card with cash I got in the mail when Soldier boy was off at training and our daughter fractured her skull. I don't know who sent it and the post mark wasn't anything I recognized, but it was something that we desperately needed at the time. If my 'angel' is reading this, thank you :)

2. If you are having a hard time going to sleep, what do you do to help yourself?I never sleep. Not when Soldier boy is home, not when he is gone. I try to play soothing music at night, but I am not sure it helps or makes it worse. I have tried reading, but I hate to put a good book down, so then I stay up even later. Could be all the caffeine in my system or the stress of having six children... I am looking forward to everyone's answers. Maybe I will find something that works!

3. Name something that makes you wish you were a kid again. Disney World :) I don't mind being an adult, but I wish I didn't have to be the responsible person all the time. I don't want to pay bills or clean house or cook... I would love to have a summer off... I would like to be brutally honest like my kids sometimes. Like the next time someone says, "How are you doing?" - I would really like to tell them, in detail, how much deployments suck - instead of saying, "fine".

4. What is something you never believed until you experienced it?Two things...a. How much you could really, truly love another human being - then I became a mother. It is impossible to explain to anyone who isn't a parent. b. The relationships and sisterhood that I have gained through MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). I can't begin to express how thankful I am for these women. Love you girls!

5. What can’t you say “no” to?Chocolate, especially dark chocolate. But it has to be the real stuff, not the junk that is all over right now for Halloween. M & M's do not count, they are for potty training toddlers. I love that the commissary has Belgium & German chocolates. So yummy!

Have a wonderful weekend!

MilSpouse Weekly Roundup is hosted by Army Dogs this week! Come join in the fun :)

Sunday, October 24, 2010

I have been playing with some new widgets and buttons on my blog. It has been great to brush up on my HTML skills :) I would appreciate your feedback! Please tell me what you like and what you don't like. What works and what doesn't work. Please feel free to "like" me on Facebook too - it helps boost my self esteem!

Note: Between all my volunteer work for MOPS and the military community, I get a lot of friend requests. Because of the need for operational & personal security (click on the OPSEC badge on the right for more info), I don't add anyone unless you are friends or family. Please feel free to come over to my blog page on Facebook to connect there. I would love to get to know you!

Friday, October 22, 2010

It is Friday once again! A big thank you to Wife of a Sailor for doing these Friday Fill-ins. If you are a military spouse, head on over and join in the fun.

Five (more) things you have always wanted to know about me, you just didn't realize it!

Are you a night owl or an early bird?Definitely a night owl. Soldier boy was too when I married him. Then he got old... I don't sleep much, especially during a deployment. Maybe next year.

What makes you jealous?When I see a clean house... Someday mine will be clean, right?

Have you started Christmas/holiday shopping yet? When will you finish? (There’s only 63 days left!)
No, I haven't started yet. I did look at the Aafes catalog if that counts. I won't finish until the 24th. This year, that may be the day I start as well.

What would you have a personal chef make you tonight?Anything would be better than what I ate last night. I went and did a deployment shop. $300 worth of junk food at the commissary - I did use coupons, so I only paid $235. We ate pizza rolls and ice cream for dinner.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Last year, I told some of you about a conversation that wrecked me.While looking at a book about weather with my 6 year old daughter, L.E., we came across a photo of a starving child. L.E. asked me, “What’s that?”I told her, “That’s a little boy who doesn’t have enough food to eat.” She thought for a few seconds and then responded, “That’s not real though. That’s pretend, right?”

Friday, October 8, 2010

I know it has been a while since I participated in Wife of a Sailor's meme, but I am looking forward to getting back in on the fun :) At least it gives me something to do other than counting down days. Have I mentioned lately how much deployments suck?

1. What is the longest road trip you’ve ever taken?

We moved from New Orleans to Seattle with three kids (5, 3 & 8 months) and a dog. Of course, I got to drive the car with the girls and hubby got to drive the U-haul with the dog. Not a fair trade at all!

2. Do you collect anything? Tell us a bit about it.

Books! After the last move, hubby refused to ever pack and haul a box of books for me. There are some still in boxes in the garage... I have now started on e-books. They don't take up as much space! (P.S. I get most of them for nothing! Check out the previous post for some great freebies.)

3. What is your favorite part about being an adult?

Telling my kids, "because I am the adult and I said so" ;0)

4. What song brings a tear to your eye?

Just one? I love music as much as I love books and I am also a history fanatic (which comes out in everything I enjoy - books, music, movies...) My favorite tear jerker is Grace (since the moment I first heard it and the true story behind it 11 years ago) and recently I have added a new one by the same tenor, Bring Him Home. Two more that tie for 1st place are The Wall by John McDermott (my dad was a Vietnam vet) and The Green Fields Of France. *editing to add: Even though I am not a huge country fan, American Soldier gets me everytime*

5.Describe your first plane ride (how old you were, where you were heading, etc).

I am not sure it was my first, but it is too late to call my mommy and ask. The first one I remember was when we flew to Dallas/Fort Worth because my grandpa was in the hospital. I was probably around seven and the thing I remember most clearly was the fact they made me put my Cabbage Patch Kid through the x-ray machine. Then I spilled 7-up on my doll during the flight. Would have been much more fun if they had put my kid brother through the x-ray...

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

I downloaded several new books tonight from Amazon.com and wanted to share them with you.

Note: Please don't forget to check the price before you buy! Especially if you are like me and get overly excited with books ;0) The prices change frequently and though they were free when posting, they might not be when you read this!

Also, if you don't have a Kindle, you can download an app to your computer, smart phone or ipad. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for a banner ad to take you to the app page. (And if you ever shop through amazon and want to aid my Kindle fund, you are more than welcome to shop through my links!)